Cyclopentadienyl derivatives of octahedral carbonylcarbide hexaruthenium clusters: synthesis, NMR, IR and X-ray characterization

Abstract The reaction of hexanuclear carbonylcarbide cluster Ru6C(CO)17 (1) with pentamethylcyclopentadiene by reflux in heptane leads to a new chelate cluster Ru6C(μ-η1-η5-CH2C5Me4)(CO)14 (2). The compound 2 contains a CH2 group α-bonded to one of the Ru atoms in the Ru6 cluster and a C5Me4-ligand η5-coordinated by the adjacent Ru atom of the Ru6 cluster. Reflux of 1 in hexane with two molecular equivalents of nickelocene, Ni(C5H5)2  NiCp2, used as a source of cyclopentadiene yields the Ru6C(CO)12Cp2 (3) cluster. The compounds 2 and 3 have been characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopy and their crystal structures determined by X-ray diffraction studies.